Can't Sleep Alone
by Shay59317
Summary: Imagine: Newt gets in trouble. That night, he can't sleep alone because you usually sleep together. "I miss her."


_Imagine: Newt gets in trouble. That night, he can't sleep alone because you usually sleep together. "I miss her."_

* * *

Newt was cold, colder than he'd felt in a long time as he lay uncomfortably across the stiff board in his cell. Subconsciously, he reached out an arm to the opposite side of the cot, hoping to draw closer to your warmth, but he came up empty. The sudden awareness of your absence somehow hit him harder than it had the first moment he'd sprawled across the poor excuse of a bed.

Rolling over onto the other side, he allowed himself to pretend he was somewhere else, preferably in a different bed. Still living in his fantasy, the glader attempted to inhale your scent from your pillow. Newt hoped it would calm him enough to finally get some much-needed sleep. Unfortunately, it was a poor substitute, and he still lie awake. After the strenuous day he had . . .well, that's precisely what got him in this mess in the first place.

He thought back to a couple hours before, when It all went wrong.

 _"_ _Tommy!" Newt yelped, nearly tripping over a root as he stumbled after his friend. "Bloody hell, you do recall my limp, right?"_

 _"_ _Aw c'mon, Newt," Thomas smirked over his shoulder as he continued at a run through the woods, "don't be a baby. We're almost there." The blond had to roll his eyes at his friend; he'd said the same thing five minutes ago. He grunted at the low ache beginning to build in his ankle. Forcing back the pain, he pushed himself harder, loving the way the wind whipped through his hair, slicking it back messily. Newt was barely two feet behind Thomas now, having caught up to him, and nearly got a branch to the face as the brunet released it to swing free behind him._

 _"_ _Watch it, shank." Newt warned. A couple more minutes passed with no change. Thomas must've taken a wrong turn or two since there was no possible way the forest in the Glade was big enough to warrant a half hour to trek through it; based on the pucker between Tommy's eyebrows, Newt knew he was right. A few more minutes of mindless running, and Newt noticed a change in the air._

 _Glancing to the right, he looked just in time to catch the excited gleam in Tommy's eye before he sped up even quicker, much to Newt's annoyance._

 _"_ _We're here," Thomas announced behind a wall of trees, completely out of Newt's line of sight. Figuring it was finally safe to do so, Newt slowed down to a leisure walk._

 _Approaching the tree line, Newt called, "This better be good Tommy. I've wasted a half hour of work for this; Alby's going to have my arse." He muttered the last part under his breath. Newt could never completely comprehend how Thomas could convince him to do some of the crazy things they've done. It had to be some sort of talent of his._

 _Once he broke through the trees, the blond had to squint as the sun blinded him momentarily. He blinked rapidly to be rid of the black spots dancing through his vision. The sight that awaited him caused him to gasp in awe._

 _How had he never seen this place before?_

 _"_ _Tommy," Newt said, "how did you find this place?" Thomas stood proudly to his right as he showcased his discovery. The clearing was surrounded by greenery—shrubs, bushes, trees, etc. The focal point of the sight was the steaming spring at the very center. Several pools littered the area, and the steam surrounded them like a wispy halo._

 _Thomas shrugged at the question. "I did some exploring after I was done running for the day, and I stumbled across it the other day after getting a bit lost." His words came off muffled towards the end of his speech. Curiously, Newt turned to see Thomas's shirt halfway off his body._

 _"_ _What the bloody hell are you doing?" Newt asked._

 _"_ _I'm going for a swim," He replied simply as he toed off his shoes and socks. "I mean, isn't hot water good for sore muscles?"_

 _Newt knew the question was rhetoric but answered in the affirmative anyway, "Yes."_

 _"_ _Don't just stand there," Thomas said, hopping into the closest pool with a satisfied sigh. "Come on in."_

 _Work, Newt reminded himself. He still had to work; after all, he was Keeper of the Track Hoes, and the leader couldn't afford to slack off. The blond had to be a good role model to his peers._

 _"_ _I can't, Tommy." Newt refuted._

 _"_ _Yes, you can." Thomas insisted. "Look, one day off isn't going to kill you. You've worked your tail off for three years, Newt. If anything, you deserve a break." His resolve was crumbling, and Thomas knew it. "Come on, do it for Y/N. You know she'd love this place, and once we're done here, we can go back and you can tell her all about it." Hook, line, and sinker._

 _"_ _Fine," Newt agreed, slipping everything except his boxers off his body and sliding into the pleasantly scalding water with Thomas. A sigh passed his lips. The tension in his limbs was draining into the water. Long minutes befell in silence. Each were wrapped in their own thoughts, and time slipped away from them._

 _The next thing Newt became aware of was a rough hand shaking his shoulder. "Newt."_

 _"_ _Hmm?" He hummed in a daze, still only semi-conscious._

 _"_ _Newt, wake up!" Thomas spoke louder. Quick as a whip, the blond's eyes snapped open, and with a shake of his head, he was on high alert._

 _"_ _Tommy?" Newt brushed the last of the disorientation away. "What is it?" Even before Thomas voiced the problem, the Keeper knew what was wrong. A mere glance at the sky was all he needed._

 _"_ _It's dark," Thomas pointed out. "The others will be looking for us." Of course, they would be. They've been gone for hours now, and they were, without a doubt, worried. Especially—_

 _"_ _Oh god." Newt facepalmed._

 _"_ _I know," Thomas said, "It's going to be pretty hard to navigate in the dark, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can do it."_ How reassuring. _Based on the amount of time it took them to arrive at the pools, Newt was highly doubtful._

 _"_ _No, that's not what I meant." The blond replied. "I happened to recall a couple of beautiful girls, who happen to be our girlfriends, who must be worried sick that we've disappeared . . ." As he spoke, the blond jumped fluidly out of the water for his clothing, a frantic edge to his movements._

 _"_ _Oh klunk." Thomas muttered, turning pallid. Both rushed to put on their clothes and raced their way back to camp. Miraculously, and much to Newt's pleasant surprise, they managed to shave their travel time down to twenty minutes before they were right near the edge of the deadheads. From there, they could hear the distant shouts calling their names. Newt bit his lower lip, consciously listening in for one voice in particular, but he was still too far out._

 _Sharing a look of resignation with Thomas and grudgingly ready to face the consequences of their actions, Thomas and Newt exited the woods side by side. It didn't take long for someone to spot them._

 _"_ _THEY'RE OVER HERE!" was yelled by none other than a red-faced Chuck. The chubby twelve-year-old pounced on them once in range, gathering them both in a bear hug. "Where have you guys been?! We've been searching for hours!" Looking closely, Newt could see the redness in the boy's eyes. He winced at the evidence of Chuck's tears. They'd caused that—him_ and _Tommy._

 _They were in some big trouble indeed._

 _"_ _We're okay Chuck," Thomas reassured "Newt and I just lost track of time—"_

 _"_ _Thomas!" A voice interrupted, relief palpable as she approached. Newt took a step away from his friend, knowing exactly what was in store for him._

 _"_ _Teresa," Thomas returned, opening his arms just in time to catch his girlfriend in them. "I'm sorry." They were honestly the first words to spill from his mouth, punctuated with a short, sweet kiss to her forehead as she pressed herself against his firm chest. The affectionate display of the couple in front of him made Newt yearn for the company of his own girlfriend. Looking away from his companions, he looked out into the darkness, hoping to spot you._

 _What he didn't expect were a pair of arms to encircle his waist from behind. Before he could get too tensed, you said his name, "Newt."_

 _"_ _Y/N," the blond replied, relieved to finally be in close proximity to you. "I'm sorry I worried you."_

 _"_ _You better be, and your explanation for your little disappearing act better be phenomenal," You retorted. "Teresa and I have been worried sick about you both. It's been four hours since anyone has last seen you. We didn't know if a griever had gotten you both or if you were both stuck in the maze somewhere." Newt felt your head press against the base of his neck and the mighty breath you released. Swiveling around slowly to face you, the blond returned the embrace._

 _Gladers were beginning to surround you all now. They too wondered where the duo had gone, and were impatiently waiting for a response. They didn't have to wait much longer either._

 _Alby gained their attention with a loud clearing of the throat. "Where've you shanks been all day?" He inquired once all eyes fell on him._

 _Newt spoke up, "Tommy and I lost track of time while we were out exploring."_

 _Eyebrows furrowing, Alby voiced, "That's it? Both of you abandoned your duties to go exploring?" The glader shook his head. "You should know better than to break the rules. Without them, we'd be nothing."_

 _"_ _We know," Newt agreed. "And we're sorry. We honestly only meant to be gone an hour at most." Thomas nodded his agreement._

 _Alby nodded, "Still, rules have been broken, and you must be punished." He paused to think about a suitable punishment. Newt felt your grip on his body tighten. He pressed a soothing kiss to your temple._

 _"_ _It'll be okay," He whispered in your ear, the sound nearly inaudible. He pulled you in even tighter, loving the warmth of your body against his own._

 _"_ _Both of you will spend a night in the slammer and be given no breakfast tomorrow." Newt groaned silently at the last part and he had the urge to send a glare towards Thomas for getting them both into this predicament._

 _After that, the surrounding gladers dispersed. Only Alby and Chuck remained with you four. "Come on now. I know you don't like it, but off to the slammer with both of you shanks." Newt grimaced, but followed Alby to his temporary cell for the night; his hand was tucked firmly into yours the whole way there, both of you dreading the moment you'd have to part._

It took some convincing for Newt to get you to return to your bed without him; you were rather insistent that you stay. But once that ordeal had been settled, silence became Newt's eerie companion. Well, not his only companion since Thomas was sitting in the cell next to his own.

The blond couldn't tell if his friend was awake or not at this time of night. Peering out of his cell to really find out was useless as he wouldn't be able to see through the darkness of his friend's cell, so Newt was forced to lay awkwardly against his cot, listening to the sound of his low breathing. With nothing left to do, the former runner began to count each individual breath to pass the time.

It was around breath eighty-six that the peace was interrupted.

"Newt," the blond heard Thomas whisper. Still annoyed at his friend for being partially responsible for him being trapped in a cell, Newt dawdled his answer. "Pssssst."

"Right here, Tommy," Newt said as if there were any doubt. He heard a shuffle come from next door, and the blond assumed his brunet friend was shifting closer to the wall separating their cells. So many beats passed that Newt was beginning to think he fell asleep.

"I'm sorry."

Newt shrugged to himself and allowed a small smile to quirk his lips at the sincerity in Thomas's tone. "Don't be. You couldn't have known we'd fall asleep."

"Maybe so, but I still feel guilty for getting you in trouble too." Thomas replied.

"Well would ya look at you, attempting to be the martyr, Slinthead." Newt drawled with a roll of his eyes. "Bloody hell, Thomas. It's not like you abducted me against my will or anything. It was my choice to follow you. We both had a part in this."

"Still sucks." Thomas said after a while.

"Good that." Newt agreed. A distant rumbled echoed around them—no doubt the maze reshaping itself once more for the upcoming day. On a usual night, Newt would lay curled up with you until the first traces of dawn grace the sky. The thought had the blond aching for his arms to be around you.

"I miss her," Newt mutters under his breath, eyes closed in defeat; there was no escaping the thoughts of you that plagued his mind. The blond heard a sigh escape from the runner next door.

"Me too." Thomas agreed, thinking of Teresa. _Just a few more hours_. That's all they had left of their punishment. "But you're not entirely alone, Newt."

Newts nodded slowly, "I know, Tommy." The blond's eyes fluttered shut, and he allowed a small smile to find his lips. At least he had that.

Tomorrow night though, he'd have his arms around you, feeling like he was exactly where he belonged.

* * *

 **It's been a while since I've written a Maze Runner fic, but I've been reading a lot of those Newt Imagines on Pinterest, sooooo it had to be done. :-)**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Reviews would be amazing.**


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